The Indian Roller All Information
The Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis) is a striking blue-and-brown bird of open fields, villages and forest edges, famous for its aerobatic “rolling” display during the breeding season. For Wildlife Nest readers, it is a perfect example of a bird that has deep cultural value in India, important ecological benefits, but is now facing new threats from pesticides and habitat change.
Image Credit to Wikimedia Commons
Basic identity and quick facts
The Indian Roller is a medium-sized bird belonging to the roller family Coraciidae, widely distributed from West Asia to the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia. It is commonly seen perched on wires, poles and exposed tree branches in open countryside, grasslands and agricultural landscapes.
- Common names: Indian Roller, Blue Jay (older English name), Neelkanth / Neelkantha in many Indian languages.
- Scientific name: Coracias benghalensis.
- Family: Coraciidae (rollers).
- IUCN Red List status: Recently reassessed as Near Threatened (from Least Concern earlier), with evidence of population decline.
- Legal protection in India: Listed under Schedule II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, giving it strong legal protection from hunting and trade.
- State bird: Official state bird of Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana.
For birdwatchers and photographers, the Indian Roller is one of the most photographed birds in India due to its bright colours and cooperative perching behaviour.
Appearance and identification
The Indian Roller is easily recognised by its vivid blues contrasted with brown upperparts, especially when it takes flight and shows bright blue patches on its wings. Both sexes look similar, which means plumage is not a reliable way to distinguish male and female in the field.
Key identification features:
- Size: Roughly starling–pigeon sized, with a robust body and a strong, slightly hooked bill.
- Head and back: Dull brown to rufous-brown on the mantle and back, with a bluish crown and face tones.
- Underparts: Blue to greenish-blue on the breast and belly.
- Wings:
- Tail: Blue with a darker terminal band and sometimes paler shafts, giving a contrasting look when spread.
- Bill and legs: Strong dark bill; legs and feet dull greyish.
In flight, the Indian Roller looks much more colourful than when perched, and the flashing blue wings are often the best clue for beginners. Its flight is direct but during courtship the bird performs spectacular rolls, dives and twists, which gave the group “rollers” their name.
Similar species
In some parts of India and neighbouring regions, the Indian Roller can be confused with other rollers such as the Indochinese Roller or European Roller (rare visitor). The Indian species shows more brown on the back and a characteristic pattern of blues on the wings, while European Roller is more uniformly blue with less brown.
Distribution and habitat
The Indian Roller has a wide distribution, stretching from West Asia through the Indian subcontinent. It is considered largely resident, with some local seasonal movements linked to food availability and rainfall.
Main range:
- West Asia: Iraq and Arabian Peninsula (e.g. United Arab Emirates).
- South Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and nearby islands such as Lakshadweep and Maldives.
- Southeast Asia: Extends eastwards into parts of Myanmar and beyond, with closely related forms in Indochina.
Preferred habitats:
- Open grasslands and scrub forests.
- Cultivated fields, fallow agricultural land and plantations.
- Rural gardens, roadside avenues and scattered trees in villages.
- Semi-urban and urban edges where there are open spaces and perching sites such as wires and poles.
This species has low dependence on dense forest, favouring mosaics of open land with scattered trees, which is why it is common along highways, farm fields and powerlines. In agricultural habitats of southern India, densities of about 50 birds per square kilometre have been recorded, showing how abundant it can be in suitable landscapes.
Behaviour and daily lifestyle
Indian Rollers are often seen sitting upright on exposed perches, scanning the ground for prey and periodically swooping down to catch insects or other small animals. This sit-and-wait hunting style makes them very visible and easy to observe even from a moving vehicle.
Typical behavioural traits:
- Perching: Prefers 3–10 m high perches such as telegraph wires, tree branches, poles and fences.
- Hunting: Drops to the ground to seize insects and small vertebrates, then returns to the perch to swallow prey.
- Association with human activity:
Vocalisations:
- The call is a harsh, crow-like “chack” or “chack-chack”, often repeated loudly.
- During breeding season, they become very noisy, emitting metallic “boink” sounds and a variety of harsh notes while displaying.
Courtship behaviour is especially dramatic: the displaying bird performs aerobatic rolls, dives and twists, sometimes accompanied by calling and showing off the bright wing colours. On the perch, they also exhibit behavioural displays such as bill-up postures, bowing, wing-drooping, tail-fanning, and mutual preening (allopreening) between partners.
Diet and feeding ecology
The Indian Roller is primarily insectivorous, feeding mainly on large insects but also taking small vertebrates when available.
Main food items:
- Beetles, which can make up around 45% of its diet in some studies.
- Grasshoppers and crickets, contributing about 25% of the diet.
- Other insects: moths, locusts, mantises, wasps, flies, ants, caterpillars and winged termites.
- Small vertebrates: frogs, lizards, small snakes, small birds and small mammals taken occasionally.
Feeding strategies:
- Ground feeding: Birds watch from a perch and then descend to the ground to capture beetles, grasshoppers or other prey.
- Termite swarms: Indian Rollers are highly attracted to swarms of winged termites; up to 40 birds have been recorded perched on a 70 m stretch of electric wire during such events.
- Opportunistic hunting: They use burning fields, ploughed land and lights to find concentrated food.
Ecological role:
- By consuming large numbers of insects, especially crop pests like grasshoppers and beetles, the Indian Roller helps in natural pest control, benefiting farmers and reducing the need for chemical insecticides.
- This insectivorous habit also contributes to balancing insect populations in grassland and agricultural ecosystems.
Breeding season and courtship
In most of India, the breeding season of the Indian Roller falls from about March to June, roughly coinciding with the pre-monsoon and early monsoon period. The onset of display flights and loud calls is often the first sign that territory establishment and pairing have begun.
Key features of the breeding season:
- Territory: Males establish and defend territories, using aerial displays and loud calls to signal occupation and attract females.
- Aerial display:
- Pair bonding: On perches, birds engage in allopreening and bill-touching, strengthening the pair bond ahead of nesting.
In some regions, local climate and food availability can shift the precise timing of breeding, but the overall pattern remains centred on warmer months when insect abundance increases.
Nesting sites and nest structure
For Wildlife Nest readers interested in nest ecology, the Indian Roller is a classic cavity nester that makes good use of existing hollows in trees and even buildings.
Typical nest site:
- Existing hole in a tree trunk, dead palm, or large branch.
- Cavities in mud banks or building walls, where suitable hollows are available.
- Old woodpecker holes or cavities created by wood-boring insects, especially in palm trunks.
Nest height and tree selection:
- Studies in protected areas show nest holes often situated at moderate heights, around 5–6 m above ground, in large trees.
- In Bandhavgarh National Park, nests have been noted at about 3 m height in Shorea robusta and 7.5 m in Syzygium cumini trees.
- One study reported average nest tree height of about 14.6 m and nest hole height around 5.8 m above ground, indicating a preference for substantial trees with suitable cavities.
Nest construction:
- The birds do not weave elaborate nests; they either use the bare cavity or add a thin lining.
- Lining materials can include feathers, straw, grass, bits of paper, rags and other soft materials.
- In very soft or rotten wood, Indian Rollers may enlarge the cavity by tearing open the trunk, creating a suitable chamber.
This reliance on large trees and existing cavities makes the availability of mature trees in farmlands and villages crucial for their nesting success.
Eggs, incubation and chick development
The clutch of the Indian Roller is relatively small, and careful parental care helps ensure high fledging success in many sites.
Eggs and clutch size:
- Typical clutch: 3–5 eggs, though some studies report clutches as small as 2 and up to 6 in rare cases.
- Eggs are white, oval and unmarked, with an average size around 33 mm × 27 mm.
Incubation:
- Incubation usually begins as soon as the first egg is laid, leading to asynchronous hatching where older chicks are slightly ahead of their younger siblings.
- Incubation period is about 17–19 days.
- Both parents may share incubation, though the female often plays the dominant role.
Nestlings and fledging:
- Chicks hatch naked and blind, entirely dependent on parents for warmth and food.
- Both parents feed the young, bringing insects and small prey items repeatedly throughout the day.
- Fledging typically occurs after about 30–35 days, when young birds leave the nest cavity.
- Field research has estimated hatching success of nearly 79% and fledging success around 80%, indicating relatively good survival during the nesting phase where conditions are favourable.
Causes of nesting failure can include predation, competition for cavities, human disturbance and shortages of food or extreme weather.
Role in agriculture and ecosystem
From an ecological and agricultural perspective, the Indian Roller is an important ally of farmers and a key insect predator in open landscapes.
Ecological contributions:
- Natural pest control:
- Food web role:
- Indicator of habitat quality:
In many Indian farming communities, the Indian Roller is accepted or even welcomed around farmlands, especially where awareness exists about its insectivorous diet. Conserving this species helps maintain ecological balance and can indirectly support more sustainable, low-chemical agriculture.
Cultural and religious significance
The Indian Roller holds a special place in Indian culture, religion and folklore, far beyond its ecological role.
Cultural highlights:
- State bird status: As noted earlier, it is the official state bird of Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana, symbolising natural heritage and beauty.
- Name and mythology:
- Traditional beliefs: Historically, it was sometimes used in rituals or kept for its beauty, but modern conservation awareness and strict laws discourage such practices.
Photography and eco-tourism:
- The striking aerial displays and vivid colours make the Indian Roller a favourite subject at national parks and along highways, where tourists often stop to photograph it.
- Some protected areas highlight this bird in interpretation material to connect visitors emotionally with open-habitat biodiversity.
Conservation status and emerging threats
Although once considered very common, the Indian Roller has recently shown signs of decline in parts of its range, prompting a change in its global conservation assessment.
Conservation status:
- IUCN Red List:
- National protection: Schedule II under India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act, protecting it from hunting and trade and regulating any captivity.
Major threats:
- Pesticide use:
- Habitat changes:
- Collisions and electrocution:
Despite these challenges, the species remains locally common in many areas, thanks to its adaptability, but the documented decline makes timely conservation action essential.
How people can help Indian Rollers
For readers of Wildlife Nest, simple local actions can significantly support Indian Roller populations in villages, towns and farmlands.
Helpful actions:
- Protect and plant trees:
- Reduce harmful pesticides:
- Provide nest boxes where appropriate:
- Minimise disturbance at nest sites:
Citizen science and awareness:
- Birdwatchers can record observations of Indian Rollers in platforms and local checklists, helping track changes in distribution and abundance.
- Educational programs in schools and farming communities can highlight the species’ role in natural pest control and explain why protecting it benefits agriculture as well as biodiversity.
Indian Roller at a glance (table)
For Wildlife Nest, the Indian Roller offers an engaging story that connects colourful birdlife, traditional beliefs, farming landscapes and modern conservation concerns. By understanding its nesting needs, diet and threats, readers can better appreciate this spectacular bird and support its survival in the fields, villages and roadsides where it has long been a familiar part of India’s skies
